ISLAMABAD: The United States and Iran on Saturday started direct face-to-face talks in Islamabad, three Pakistani sources told Arab News, with at least one official saying the country's powerful army chief was leading the negotiations from the Pakistan side.
Pakistan is hosting the talks after weeks of diplomatic outreach led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, positioning Islamabad as a key intermediary in a conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
The war has caused the biggest oil supply shock on record, damaging regional energy production and raising fears of inflation, food insecurity and a potential global economic slowdown.
Trump, ahead of midterm elections later this year, faces pressure to find an off-ramp from the conflict after announcing a ceasefire earlier this week.
“Direct talks between the US and Iran have started in the presence of host Pakistan,” one Pakistani official told Arab News.
Two other officials in Islamabad confirmed that talks had begun. One, a member of cabinet, said Sharif was not in the negotiations, which were being attended by Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on the American side. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are leading the delegation from Tehran.
Reuters also reported, quoting a Pakistani source: “Three-way talks were face-to-face between Witkoff, Vance, Kushner, Iran's Qalibaf, Araghchi, Pakistan's army chief.”
A senior White House official told Arab News in a written response:
“The US, Pakistan, and Iran are holding a trilateral face to face meeting today.”
An Iranian government account on X said talks had "entered the expert-level stage as economic, military, legal, and nuclear committees joined."
"Negotiations continue at the Serena Hotel to finalize technical details."
The two delegations had earlier communicated through intermediaries and held separate meetings with PM Sharif, a third Pakistani government official told Arab News.
A Pakistani source told Reuters it was too early to say whether talks would end on Saturday, adding there was no time limit for negotiations.
Iran has put forward a 10-point proposal that includes maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz, recognition of its right to nuclear enrichment, lifting of sanctions and an end to hostilities, including in Lebanon.
However, key differences remain over the scope of the ceasefire. The United States and Israel say the truce does not extend to Lebanon, while Iran and Pakistan maintain it was part of the understanding.
Ahead of the talks, White House officials expressed skepticism that discussions could quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Ghalibaf and Araghchi have said the ceasefire must include Israel’s assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon and that Iranian assets blocked by sanctions must be released.
It remains unclear whether those demands could derail the talks, which mark the highest-level engagement between the United States and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. These are the first direct talks between the two sides since 2015, when they reached a deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
Speaking to reporters before boarding his flight to Islamabad, Vance said Trump had given him “some pretty clear guidelines” for the talks.
“We’re going to try to have a positive negotiation,” Vance said.
“If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand ... If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam said on X the onus was on Washington to respond constructively to mediation efforts.
“It remains to be seen whether the US honors the mediation efforts of the host in good office," Moghadam wrote.
The negotiations are taking place as Islamabad, a city of 2 million, was in virtual lockdown on Saturday, with hundreds of military, paramilitary and police personnel deployed across the capital.
